Shazam snubbed on MK vs. DC box
DOH-pad: A visit with MK vs. DC on Xbox 360

Game development has become ridonkulously expensive, and if you're creating a project within a niche genre, like a fighting game, you'd best sell out if you want to be around long enough to make another game. That's a harsh way to qualify what's happening all around the industry -- and let's be clear: MK vs. DC in no way stoops to the level of Castlevania Judgment -- but somehow "casual" has become careless, as if developers are afraid ordinary consumers won't appreciate good art. A certain amount of color, call it the "Noob Saibot" effect, seems wiped from the MK canvas. Gone is that unsophisticated humor that was always charming, if not entirely professional. (Where's that "Toasty" guy? What ever happened to reverting opponents to diapered infants?) With this in mind, and DC legal breathing down Midway's neck (we wouldn't want Supe's golden-boy reputation tarnished, not with a movie reboot possible, would we?), the team is tiptoeing to a final release.
Continue reading DOH-pad: A visit with MK vs. DC on Xbox 360
Midway seeks $40 million from National Amusements for manufacturing
Midway recently lost a trio of executives and fired around 100 people as it hit losses of almost $70 million in just the first two quarters of this year. Hopefully, the Christmas cash will give the company some bigger spoons for scooping the water out of the ship.
MK vs. DC Achievements reveal Lex Luthor, Darkseid, more
The latter category features intergalactic menace Darkseid, sinister slap-head Lex Luthor and Outworld favorite Baraka, who probably wasn't hugged much as a child. Peer past the break for the complete list of known characters while we poke Midway for confirmation.
Update: One curt comment: "Midway has not officially released the Xbox 360 achievements for MK vs. DCU."
Update 2: Midway has just confirmed the full lineup of characters. You'll find 'em all after the break.
Continue reading MK vs. DC Achievements reveal Lex Luthor, Darkseid, more
Midway: Wheelman devs still behind the wheel

"Newcastle is a very important studio for us" Booty told GamesIndustry, adding, "We just brought in a new studio head, Craig Duncan, formerly with Codemasters, so I think those two things are an indication that we've got a very strong commitment to that studio." Booty (it's fun to say!) also went as far as to call Wheelman "a front line important game for [Midway] in the first half of 2009."
Booty then abruptly bolted out of the building, hopped into a running car driven by none other than Diesel himself, and quickly sped away. At least that's how we would have liked to see the interview wrap up.
[Via Big Download]
Watch the Joker's MK vs. DC fatality
No, the only real problem is what the attack isn't. As fans of The Dark Knight know, the Joker's real fatality is blindingly obvious. Because, honestly, who doesn't love a good magic trick?
GC 2008: This is new video of This is Vegas
Though the game / "lifestyle sim" has been delayed until next year, Midway nevertheless had it on display at E3 so we could proclaim: This is our Hands-on with This is Vegas. Two new screens head up the gallery below. Meanwhile, we anxiously await the inevitable sequels: This is Lodi, This is Jasper, and This is Hoboken.
GC 2008: New trailer, screens for The Wheelman (not The Assassin!)
GC 2008: Joker, Green Lantern duke it out in new MK vs. DC screens
If these guys don't pummel your fancy, Midway has also informed us that series stalwarts Raiden and Kano will join the game's kombatants, along with the DC universe's Wonder Woman and Deathstoke.
Variety: Tony Scott attached to canceled Midway game

Variety is reporting that Tony "Top Gun" Scott was similarly attached to Midway's recently canceled – albeit never announced – Austin project, Career Criminal. Of course, Midway won't confirm the information since, well, it never announced that the game existed in the first place, remember? The silver lining: Scott's free to work on our long-dreamed-of video game adaptation of The Last Boy Scout. Think about it: Bruce Willis' likeness and voice, that's the stuff hits are made of.
Midway Austin facing 90 layoffs, 'Criminal' canceled [update]

We have reached out to Midway for further clarification on the status of the Austin studio and its projects, and will update as soon as we obtain a statement.
Update: Midway has issued a press release detailing the layoffs and game cancellation (note: emphasis ours): "Midway Games Inc. today announced that it has canceled an as-yet-unannounced project in production in its Austin, TX, facility, and as a result Midway will have a reduction in force of a portion of the affected development team. The studio will remain open and will continue to operate both the Company's Central Outsourcing Group as well as two teams that are working on unnamed prototype projects intended to expand Midway's portfolio of new intellectual property ... The workforce reduction will affect approximately 90 of the 130 people currently employed in the studio." [Thanks, dvnt]
More Midway departures including Chicago studio head
Also gone: Mona Hamilton, veep of marketing, and Reilly Brennan, director of media relations. Midway confirmed all three departures, and said that Bilder accepted a senior management position with another Chicagoland dev (any ideas, Joystiqland?). There are two additional rumored departures, but Midway's apparently not ready to talk about them yet. That's fine. For now we'll just add these three to the list we've already got going, right there next to these two guys and the company's CEO.
Midway bleeds another $34.8 million in Q2
Matt Booty, Midway's interim president and CEO, believes that Midway's lineup later this year, consisting of Blitz: The League II and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, will "expand the audience beyond their core fan bases." We know it's sweet to try and make quotes from the Nintendo playbook, but we just don't have the heart to tell him that Midway isn't Nintendo. The financial rivers will continue to flow red as Midway expects another multi-million loss during Q3.
Edge: Nintendo tops industry's best publishers
The online edition of UK gaming magazine Edge, formerly Next Gen, has come forward with what the proprietors feel exemplifies the top 20 game publishers the industry has to offer. Based on what we're sure represents a complicated formula of revenue, momentum, catalog, and review scores, the magazine found Nintendo to be the absolute crème of the crop, though we imagine it'll be difficult to make out the company's acceptance speech from beneath all that money.Other notables include Actilizzard and EA, which took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively, while Midway managed to break out of Arkham Asylum just in time to claim the list's 20th -- and final -- spot.
See tons of MK vs. DC Universe gameplay
It all looks sort of cool, but we have a hard time getting past the part where Superman runs Scorpion through seven walls without picking up the phone to pre-order the game. We can't even watch it anymore because after call number 9, the guy at Gamestop was starting to get downright rude. What say you on it?























